About this service
A lifeline is the anchorage system the worker connects to in order to move safely where there is a fall hazard: roofs, silos, platforms, overhead cranes and trucks. NR-35 requires the structural anchorage and the attachment elements to be designed under the responsibility of a legally qualified professional, and the design must show that the structure receiving the system can withstand the force of a fall.
We design the complete system. We survey the roofs by drone and work on the orthophoto, which puts each line, post, tensioner and energy absorber at the actual position of the roof panels and purlins. For each line we calculate the cable tension with and without deployment of the energy absorber, the sag, the fall clearance and the loads transferred to the structure. The attachment is detailed for each roof panel type, trapezoidal metal or corrugated fiber cement, always bearing on the purlin.
Access is part of the design: fixed ladders with safety cages, rest platforms above 10 m, vertical lifelines, walkways and entry and exit points. Each line gets an identification tag with the standard, capacity, number of users and an inspection record field, and the specification defines pre-use inspection, periodic inspection, rejection criteria and the rescue procedure.
We have served industrial and agribusiness clients in Santa Catarina since 2016, with 19 lifeline, anchorage and access projects for 12 companies, including Baterias ERBS, CRAVIL and Pamplona Alimentos.
Risks of a lifeline without a design
A line bought off the shelf and installed without calculations can look safe and fail at the moment of a fall. These are the points the design addresses.
Anchorage that gives way
When arresting a fall, the energy absorber limits the force on the worker, but the anchorage receives loads on the order of 10 kN. If the purlin and the attachment are not checked, the point meant to protect is the first to fail.
Insufficient clearance
The flexible cable deflects when it arrests a fall. In a 10 m span, one user needs about 7 m of clearance below the roof; two users in the same span need more than 9 m. Without this calculation, the fall ends on the floor.
Inspections and audits
A permanent anchorage system without a design, without an ART and without component specifications is flagged by labor inspectors, client audits and insurers, and can lead to a shutdown of work at height.
A line that cannot be released for use
Without an identification tag, a stated capacity and an inspection record at least every 12 months, the installed line cannot be released for use.
When to hire
- Maintenance crews and gutter or solar panel cleaning crews who go up on the roof
- Silos, elevators, truck tippers and screens accessed by ladder or platform
- Truck loading and tarping, with work on top of the truck bed
- Lifeline installed without a design, without an ART or without identification
- Notice from labor inspectors, or an audit or insurer requirement
- Roof extension or roof panel replacement where a lifeline already exists
What is included
- Drone survey and orthophoto of the roofs
- Layout of the lines, entry and exit points
- Calculation of tension, sag and fall clearance
- Check of the purlin and the structure that receives the anchorage
- Attachment details for each roof panel type
- Fixed ladders, safety cages and platforms
- Identification tag for each line
- Specification, quantities and ART
What you receive
- Drawings with the line layout on the orthophoto or plan, with entry and exit points and ladders
- Attachment details for each roof panel type, posts, intermediate guides, corners and cable termination
- Specification and calculation report: tension, sag, fall clearance and loads on the structure
- Bill of quantities: cable, posts, tensioners, energy absorbers and accessories
- Identification tag template and inspection, rejection and rescue procedure
- Design ART and, when contracted, initial inspection to release the system for use
